Lindsey Stone Fired Over Facebook Photo

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Lindsey Stone, a 30-year-old Massachusetts native, has been terminated because of the photo (shown left) she posted on her Facebook page. Lindsey worked for LIFE (Living Independent Forever), a Cape Cod-based nonprofit organization that assists adults with learning disabilities. Jamie Schuh, who took the photo, and Lindsey’s supervisor at LIFE, was also terminated.

The two were on a company-paid trip to Washington D.C. when the photo was taken. The photo shows Lindsey mocking a sign at Arlington National Cemetery. The photo went viral and over 30,000 people liked a Facebook page set up to demand her firing. The two have apologized for the gag:

We never meant any disrespect to any of the people nationwide who have served this country and defended our freedom so valiantly.

While the photo obviously mocks the sign, many apparently thought it mocked those buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A sign demanding “Silence and Respect” deserves to be mocked. The wording of the sign projects a sense of arrogance and entitlement common to institutions that view themselves as sacred cows.

Adding the word “Please” to the sign would change the command to a request, a more sensible sentiment.

H/T: Mano Singham, Gawker, Boston Herald.

Please help support our blog by going here and registering (just takes 10.3 seconds) and voting (under the News/Analysis section). Thank you.